Numbers
''Numbers ''is the third full-length album by No One And The Somebodies. It was released in January 2012 through Single Girl Married Girl Records . The album was recorded at Paul Shaffer's House and Teh Olive Garden and produced by NOATS. Recording The basic tracks (drums, bass, guitar and keyboard) were recorded live at Paul Shaffer's House in late December 2010, as were overdubbed piano & guitar tracks, as well as tenor saxophone (played by James Landrum), trumpet & trombone (played by Chuck Wilson), and viola (played by Oliver Hill). Lyrics and some other musical overdubs were later recorded at Teh Olive Garden. Music and lyrics The album reflects NOATS's continued effort to create inventive and divergent music. While the music reflects a variety of styles and moods, the album overall is heavier and had less humor than their previous releases. While it is not a "concept" album, many of the songs have similar lyrical themes and content. Though released after the start of the Occupy Wall Streetmovement, the majority of the songs had been written before OWS began and many of those address issues at the core of OWS: the deaths of innocents caused by the ongoing presence of the U.S. military in the Middle-East ("Numbers"), the militarization of the police ("Invest In Plastic Handcuffs") and the destruction of the environment for monetary gain ("No Fracking Way"). "Democracy Now!" addresses the suppression of independent news reporters, specifically the arrest and detention of Democracy Now! reporter Amy Goodman and several of her colleagues during an anti-war protest outside of the 2008 Republican National Convention. The song begins with a sample taken from the September 2nd 2008 Democracy Now! broadcast that includes the violent arrest of DN! producer Nicole Salazar. "Asmaa Mahfouz " is the only track with lyrics written by NOATS after the start of OWS. The title comes from the name of the woman whose vlog posting helped to spark the 2011 Egyptian revolution. The lyrics also refer to Anjali Appadurai's speech at the 2011 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa. Lyrics and vocals on "Steve Jobs' Khaki Pants" and "Bill Gates' Dickless Angels" were written, performed & recorded by Jesse Carsten, a good friend of the band who had moved from Westchester to Portland, OR. The instrumental tracks were sent to him online and he sent back his vocals days later. Although the lyrics were completely written by Carsten, the song titles had been concieved by NOATS before he was asked to contribute the lyrics/vocals. This marks the first, and thus far only, time that NOATS has given lyric-writing responsibilities to a non-Yankou and the first time that they've had a guest musician do a "cross-country" collaboration. Packaging The front and back cover uses images taken fromfootage of people in Alabama destroying Beatles records and memorabilia in 1966 , in response to John Lennon's infamous, "more popular than Jesus" quote. The front cover shows two young men jumping up and down on copies of Meet the Beatles! & A Hard Day's Night. The back cover shows a young woman tearing pages out of Lennon's book In His Own Write. The lyric sheet includes 4 photos: women suffering the affects of pepper spray at an OWS event, a still photo from Asmaa Mahfouz's vlog posting (including the subtitled line, "Sitting at home on and just following us on news or Facebook leads to our humiliation"), Amy Goodman's arrest at the 2008 RNC, and Anjali Appadurai's "mic check" at the end of her UNCCC speech. The LPs were pressed using randomly mixed color vinyl. The front and back covers are screen-printed by the band. The lyric sheet was black & white photocopied on poster paper. Track listing #"Numbers" - 4:26 #"Invest in Plastic Handcuffs" - 4:44 #"(Humans) Being Human (Beings)" - 5:04 #"Asmaa Mahfouz" - 5:37 #"Steve Jobs' Khaki Pants" - 3:27 #"Democracy Now!" - 2:58 #"No Fracking Way" - 2:53 #"Bill Gates' Dickless Angels" - 2:24 #"Parasite" - 3:02 #"Beatrice" - 6:52 Personnel All songs written, recorded & mixed by NOATS, except the vocals on 5 & 8 (written, performed & recorded by Jesse Carsten). Musical ideas for 2 contributed by Ann Fitzgerald (of The Vibration) & Pete Casper (of General Miggs). Tenor saxophone on 7 & 10 played by James Landrum. Trumpet & trombone on 10 played by Chuck Wilson. Viola on 10 played by Oliver Hill (of Plume Giant). Listen/purchase http://nooneandthesomebodies.bandcamp.com/album/numbers